Cognate words in two or more languages have a common origin because of their diachronic relationship and, as a result, they share some sort of formal and/or semantic affinity. Cognate words can facilitate the foreign language learning process; they have similar meanings and, therefore, they can support the acquisition and/or learning of a non-native language. However, these words can also have a deceptive meaning as a result of semantic change and dissimilar development in two languages, i.e., they may be deceptive cognate words or false friends. False friends are especially problematic for language learners as they tend to overgeneralize and assume they know the meaning of these words, which are actually misleading. In this paper a taxonomy of cognate words containing six different types is put forward. The classification is based on semantic and formal criteria (morphological and phonological) and aims at providing a common framework for the analysis of cognate words which will help in the development of specific teaching and learning strategies.
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